Defense Contractor Settles False Claims Act Allegations

August 21, 2013

U.S. Department of Defense contractor General Electric Aviation Systems (GEAS) has agreed to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to the U.S. Government in part thanks to a qui tam lawsuit filed by former employee Jeffery Adler under the whistleblower provisions of the Federal False Claims Act. Adler filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleging that GEAS, a manufacturer of integrated systems and components for various aircraft, falsely represented that it had performed complete inspections of components be used in Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and that those components conformed to all contract specifications. This information, in addition to the results of a government investigation following a failed external fuel tank (EFT) test of GEAS-manufactured EFTs for use on the F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter jets, led to the successful settlement of false claims allegations for $6.58 million according to a DoJ press release.

“Defense contractors agree to provide the government with a quality product, and in doing so, they promise to follow strict manufacturing and testing protocols to ensure that our military receives only the best equipment,” said Andre Birotte, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. “In this case, some of the hardware sold to the government did not meet quality-control standards, and that failure could have put our service members at risk. This multimillion dollar settlement is designed to ensure that [GEAS] does not engage in this type of misconduct in the future, and this case should serve as a warning to any government contractor who thinks it can cut corners.”

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